Police investigate buzzard killings

A police investigation has been opened after protected birds of prey were shot in the Suffolk countryside.

Officers are investigating the slaying of buzzards in a crime that naturalists have called “appalling and abhorrent”.

Two of the birds – which have a wingspan up to 128cm (4ft 2in) – were found on the edge of a shooting estate by a hunter, but when a Suffolk police specialist wildlife team arrived only one corpse could be found.

They initially thought the buzzard had been poisoned, but after the carcass was removed from the banks of the River Dove, near Hoxne, it emerged it had been gunned down.

Sgt Brian Calver, of the wildlife crime unit, said: “We are in the process of looking into this and we will be absolutely thorough. We will be trying to secure a prosecution.”

He urged the public to report any dead birds of prey to the police but warned against handling them.